Emily fires past Nicolette Fernandes to feel warm in Winnipeg
By SEAN REUTHE
World No.18 Emily Whitlock put in a hugely impressive performance in the final of the Winnipeg Winter Club Women’s Open, PSA W15 tournament to defeat Nicolette Fernandes and capture her first PSA World Tour title of 2016.
After receiving a bye in the opening round, Whitlock managed a succession of mature displays to defeat both Nikki Todd and compatriot Fiona Moverley for the loss of a single game to advance to the showpiece final.
Fernandes, who was appearing in her second consecutive PSA World Tour final after losing out to Victoria Lust in the Slaight Music and Roundtable Capital Granite Open, went one better and dispatched all three of her opponents en route to the final in straight games.
The opening rally of the match, a 50-shot epic, set the stall for the rest of the encounter with both players engaging in some high-quality, exciting squash throughout the fixture.
Whitlock rose to an early lead in game one and fended off a late charge from Fernandes to go a game ahead before doubling her lead after she came out on top of some gruelling second game rallies.
Whitlock’s consistency and lack of errors ultimately gave her the edge in a frenetic, high-octane contest and she eventually took the win by an 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 margin of victory to lift her first piece of silverware so far this season.
$15,000 Women’s Winnipeg Winter Club Open 2016, Winnipeg, Canada.
Final:
[1] Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt [2] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) 11-8, 11-7, 11-4
Semi-finals:
[1] Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt [4] Fiona Moverley (ENG) 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6
[2] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) bt [7] Hollie Naughton (CAN) 11-5, 11-3, 11-6
Quarter-finals:
[1] Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt [8] Nikki Todd (CAN) 11-3, 11-5, 11-1
[4] Fiona Moverley (ENG) bt [5] Nouran El Torky (EGY) 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6
[7] Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 11-6, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5
[2] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) bt [6] Cyrielle Peltier (FRA) 11-4, 11-5, 12-10
1st round:
[1] Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt Jordyn Lambert (CAN) w/o
[8] Nikki Todd (CAN) bt [WC] Melina Turk (CAN) 11-5, 11-3, 11-5
[5] Nouran El Torky (EGY) bt Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7
[4] Fiona Moverley (ENG) bt Hannah Blatt (CAN) 11-1, 11-0, 11-2
Danielle Letourneau (CAN) bt [3] Siyoli Waters (RSA) 11-8, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9
[7] Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Alix Younger (CAN) 12-10, 11-5, 11-9
[6] Cyrielle Peltier (FRA) bt Cheyna Tucker (RSA) 11-6, 11-9, 11-5
[2] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) bt Anika Alexander (CAN) 11-2, 11-2, 11-6
Picture from Squash Mad archive (no images supplied by tournament)